Little things buoy Pedroia

Did you hear the one about the second baseman who got called up in September and hit just .189?

He was in the house last night. His name is Joe Morgan, he's in the Hall of Fame, and last night he was broadcasting Red Sox-Yankees for ESPN.

Or maybe you heard about the highly regarded slugger, who in 118 at-bats in his first season in the big leagues, including a September call-up, hit just one home run and batted .178. He went on to hit 562 more home runs, went to the Hall of Fame, and now works as an adviser to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. His name is Reggie Jackson.

There are countless other examples on the opposite end of the spectrum, too, of players who tore it up in September, never to be heard from again.

Remember Rudy Pemberton? He hit .512 (21 for 41) in 13 September games for the Sox in 1996, had a great spring the following year, then lasted another 27 games in the big leagues.

Whether Dustin Pedroia knows the history is almost beside the point. But what the Red Sox' rookie second baseman has concluded as unfair is the rush to judgment on whether he belongs in the big leagues.

Pedroia, who batted just .191 in 31 September games last season, entered last night's game batting .158 (6 for 38), the lowest average among Sox regulars.

He was hitless in his last 13 at-bats, and 1 for his last 28 after opening the season with five hits in 10 at-bats through the first three games.

Pedroia was out of the lineup Saturday, replaced by Alex Cora. He was back in the lineup last night, but while in the dugout Saturday, he said, he made up his mind about a few things.

"I was sitting on the bench saying, '[Expletive], I'm ready for this, man, I can play here and do damage," he said yesterday. "It's a matter of going out and doing it.

"When I got to the big leagues, I started listening to everybody, instead of being me. I'm 5-7, 160 pounds. I've always had a good swing. That's who I am. Yes, I swing big, but I hit home runs and doubles. It doesn't matter. It's just being myself. I'm going to get back to that."

In his first at-bat last night, Pedroia lined a double into the left-field corner. He also added a single to center in the seventh for his first multihit game since April 5. His biggest contribution of the night was a diving catch of a Josh Phelps liner that ended the Yankee eighth with the tying run at third base.

"That play he made defensively, he willed himself to catch that ball," said manager Terry Francona.

Because of his size, people often have questioned his ability, but more so, he said, since he got to the big leagues.

"It's definitely gotten worse," he said. "It's tough, when you pick up the paper and read, 'He can't play, he can't do this.' My family reads this and they get upset. I say you shouldn't listen.

"I'm here and I'm going to prepare. It's coming. Thirty-eight at-bats, that's nothing. It's not a two-week tryout. If I get 450 at-bats, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I just have to get my feet on the ground."

Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, Marquis Grissom, and Delino DeShields are taking a proactive approach to reviving baseball in the inner cities.

Their barnstorming tour -- "Oil Can Boyd's Traveling All-Stars" -- starts May 16 vs. the Brockton Rox and continues through the US and Canada.

And they have formed the Urban Baseball League, which will start in 2008. Independent pro baseball will be marketed in predominantly African-American cities and inner-city kids will be taught the game.

Coco Crisp, who was in the original lineup, was a late scratch. The press box announcement was that Crisp had tightness in his left oblique. Crisp, who took batting practice before the game, was replaced in center field by Wily Mo Peña. Crisp had been 6 for 12 (.500) in his last three games, with three of those hits bunt singles. Peña struck out three times and walked . . . Johnny Damon (hamstring) was back atop the Yankees lineup, going 1 for 5, but a bruised left thumb limited catcher Jorge Posada to pinch-hitting duty (a walk in the eighth) . . . Jason Varitek had six hits in the series after having a total of seven hits before New York came to town . . . Yesterday was Francona's 48th birthday . . . The Sox celebrated Jackie Robinson Day a week after original plans were rained out. Crisp, David Ortiz, and third base coach DeMarlo Hale all wore Robinson's No. 42. Harvard Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr., who created the Charles Houston Institute for Race and Justice, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Nick Cafardo of the Globe staff contributed to this report; Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.